Sherlock star Benedict Cumberbatch was at the Golden Globes Awards in Los Angeles last night and he talked a bit about preparing for his upcoming role in the Star Trek sequel. The actor says he is working out and getting up to speed on Trek, but wouldn’t confirm he is playing the villain.

Cumberbatch talks Trek – won’t confirm he’s playing Villain

Actor Benedict Cumberbatch attended the Golden Globe Awards last night and talked to MTV about being cast in the Star Trek sequel. The actor would not confirm anything about his role, and even when the interviewer said "we know it is the villain," Cumberbatch replied "I don’t think we do know that, I think that is just supposition" going on to say he "wouldn’t have a job in this town" if he revealed who he was playing. Cumberbatch did say that he will start his work next week and he has been "working out non-stop" to prepare for the film. The actor also noted that "it has been great fun to prep" and he has been working to "get up to speed with true Trekkies." Watch it below.

Remember he’s not doing all his scenes in one go. He has to go to new Zealand for a while and then come back again so maybe any scenes where he has to show physique can be filmed later on.In any event Khan wasnt that buff.

he won’t be playing Khan. if he is, like i’ve said before the movie would be a skip for me. based on what we think we know so far i wouldnt be surprised if he was human along with the other guest characters. probably not time travelers from the past, but maybe a secret society or just straight business men & women looking to take advantage of a new discovery.
unlikely but always possibilities; Klingons, Orion’s, Andorians, or a new race.

Holy Borg. MTV has assimilated this post. It keeps moving to their site without any movement from my computer!

Love Benedict’s voice! Small part in “War Horse.” Great speech urging his men to charge the German camp. Okay, he’s trying to Khanfuse us that he may not be playing the villain. Considering they wanted a Hispanic (See Ricardo Montalban originally as Khan.) for the main antagonist and this site reported it was Khan, I’m guessing Khan.

One more thing. Christopher Plummer (Star Trek VI, “Chang”) won the Globe for Best Supporting Actor for “Beginners.”

I still think he is the bad guy. But there is a chance that he won’t be playing a traditional “bad guy”.

That is to say he could be a baddie in the Khan sense. No doubt Khan was a bad guy but he wasn’t the typical mustache twirling type. He really had a back story and a character you felt a little sympathy for.

While Nero had potential to be that character as well I think he went under developed as a sacrifice for needing to fit in all of the origin story stuff.

whats interesting is that Khan is supposed to be from India, but was played by a hispanic actor.
if, hypothetically, Cumberbatch is playing Khan than the production would be guilty of the same thing that countless productions before them, such as those who continue to cast the role of Captain Nemo with white british actors, have done.

about my post a second ago, Ricardo Montalbán is a legend in every sense. his contrabutions to StarTrek, to entertainment, and to society are immeasurable. all that i’m saying is if they were going to go with Khan they would put a bit of thought into it. the character, along with Captain Nemo, comes from India so why not cast an Indian actor in the role. But Khan won’t be in this movie so we have nothing to worry about.

Just saw the final episode of series 2 of Sherlock, which aired here last night in the UK. Wow. I can’t help but feel that one of the best shows of the year has already been on, and it’s not even the end of January. Whatever the role, Cumberbatch will knock it out of the park.

Thank you, Anthony Pascale. I hope it is fixed. Every time I tried to type something, it went to this MTV film, which I couldn’t even see…UGH! Sometimes I really think that MTV and Hulu need to get a fork shoved up never mind where!

Now, where was I, now that it appears that we are done with MTV wankery –

#14 – “but maybe a secret society or just straight business men & women looking to take advantage of a new discovery.”

Hmmm Yes, a possible story line. BTW, *anyone wondered how some of my intelligent, sentient lifeforms manage to travel solar winds et al? The nulis introduced the humanoid menosian people to space travel, not the other way round.

*I guess not, because the story clearly sucked so much (well, according to some) that such queries never entered anyone’s consciousness…oh well…:(

Regarding his avoidance of whether or not he’s the bad guy, I could see him being a “scientist whose experiment has gone wrong” sort of character. A well intentioned person whose actions inadvertantly cause some peril or problem to be overcome, but then I tend to think he will be a new character rather than someone previously seen.

It was understandable that there was a lot of secrecy last time out, and quite rightly so this time too. I’m happy for them to give us exclusive stuff as they see fit – however, we’ve all seen what the bridge crew look like in uniform since we all saw the last one, so how’s about letting someone tweet a pic of themself in uniform just to see some tangible evidence of…..something

Thanks Anthony Pascale (@ 19) for stopping MTV from assimilating the site and my computer. There’s a mild buffering issue but that’s probably this computer. Regardless, they won’t be forcing us to watch teenage reality programming.

Hey, not all Star Trek had a villain. Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home had no villain. Classic episodes such as “City on the Edge of Forever” “The Devil in the Dark” “The Inner Light” all had no villains. I’m guessing since there’s so much riding on the sequel, they went the conventional route and are having a villain. But we’ll see how deep the Supreme Court will be with the story. A good antagonist would be Klingon Kor. (John Colicos (“Errand of Mercy”) You could do a lot of good old fashion Trek metaphors with that type of antagonist.

@ 24. Yes, Faran Tahir had amazing screen presence, he would make a great Khan, but I hope it is a new story.

@22. Archer, Sherlock was awesome, I just loved the whole series, although I thought Martin Freeman as Watson was the real heart and soul, with the slightly sociopathic Holmes as a great foil, proving what wonderful actors both are. Cumberbatch would have made a great Spock, even when Sherlock accidentally smiles, it looks wrong on his face somehow.

How many of you have seen “Sherlock”? The pilot was great, and the Irene Adler episode was good, but the rest? Very convoluted and boring with huge credibility-stretching observations and deductions. Martin Freeman is very good – looking forward to seeing Watson as Bilbo.

@27 Agreed Spockchick, both Cumberbatch and Freeman were brilliant. The latter was the biggest surprise to me, as I tend to see him as Tim from The Office, regardless of the role he’s in. Sherlock, however, has enabled him to display his acting chops.

I’m so glad these updates are happening almost every day now, during the production of a Star Trek film. It’s really increasing the anticipation for the film and fascinating. I love all the angles of coverage, film updates, actor clips, merchandising reports, Trek references in media, science updates, and things I can’t even imagine at this point. it’s wonderful. When I tell casual Trek viewers some bit of Trek information I’ve gotten from this site, they are amazed. When they ask how I got the info, I just say, “Many Bothans gave their life to bring us this information”.
When I find a serious Trekker, I give the web site address.
Thank you Anthony and crew for all the time you put in this site.
It’s amazing!

It’s interesting to me that everyone has jumped to “Khan”.
I know they have started a new timeline, but I think it’s safe to assume they will be picking up relatively soon after the first film…if they decided to pull anything at all from the original series, I’d hope it’s from an earlier episode.
Khan seems lazy, obvious and not at all what I’d expect from that team. I’m hoping they drop a couple pieces from the early episodes into one.
The new timeline may have created very different characters than those we remember. Harry Mudd may not be a loveable rogue, but a deadly killer.
If they go with a later episode…it’d be nice to see some Klingons. Errand of Mercy has some potential– Organia, Klingons….what’s not to like?
Khan? I hope not.

They are simply not going to be this coy about Commander Korgoth of the Klingon Empire or Captain SSSSSSzzzzzzth of the Gorn. You can’t jerk the mainstream media around like this only to reveal that you got nothin’.

RDR, let’s face it. They can’t keep it under wraps that much longer. Heck, even Dark Knight eventually told you who the antagonists were, long before the release date. I’m guessing once we see what Cumberbatch is wearing, we’ll know. If we see him with forehead ridges?, and say things like “q’pla” it’s Klingon. Bare chest and the hint above is that he’s working out, Khan. I say you’re right, it’s Khan. And those that don’t want that , I see your point. It’s been done before. Still, can’t judge a movie until it comes out.

I think that most actors have to sign some sort of non-disclosure agreement. It is the studio’s publicity agents, the producer(s) or director who make any relevant announcements regarding any movie details.

I get the feeling that we’ll be finding out who the villain is from some guy who works for some other guy who accidentally tumbles and stumbles onto a set inside the studio which bumbles its secrecy as J.J Abrams mumbles while the chatter on the internet rumbles!

Why do so many people assume that working out means Khan? Klingons, Romulans, Gorn, an android, “Black Omne” from the Phoenix novels–any number of villains would require working out. Unless the villain is going to be a Talosian, of course. I guess Cumberbatch wouldn’t pump iron to play one of those.

#23 – “BTW, *anyone wondered how some of my intelligent, sentient lifeforms manage to travel solar winds et al? The nulis introduced the humanoid menosian people to space travel, not the other way round.
*I guess not, because the story clearly sucked so much (well, according to some) that such queries never entered anyone’s consciousness…oh well…:(”

Um…I’m confused, I guess. Are you referring to something you posted in another thread or something? Since nobody’s responded with queries, and since I don’t see anything else about “nulis” and such, I’m wondering where you posted this…whatever you’re talking about. Just curious…

…was it just me or was Martin Freeman’s speech at the graveside rather close to Kirk’s funeral speech in TWOK? Watson says “there were times when I didn’t even think you were human, but you were the best man, the most ‘human’ human being I’ve ever known”. Got to be delibrate, surely, what with calling Sherlock ‘Spock’ in the previous episode.

I need something to be explained to me. What is the deal with all of the secrecy? There’s nothing I hate more when things are withheld from me when there is no valid reason to do so other than the lame excuse of “it’s a surprise”. All it accomplishes is pissing people off who want to know just a few details; someone mentioned wanting to know a title. What’s wrong with that? The movies that I get most interested in are the ones that are constantly dropping little hints. Is it because the director is possibly a control freak? Someone please explain.

Cumberbatch could be one of Khan’s henchmen and if Khan’s hibernation chamber were to malfunction in this new timeline he would emerge as the primary antagonist. Perhaps as a new charcter or maybe Joachim.

You all seam to think its a villain from the tos or a name brand ailien like romulan or Klingon. With this new time line we could see a villain from enterprise like sa xandi or several other types we never had in TOS. This is an open book complete new game it makes more sense to not try and compete with the TOS crew. Any simular villain like Kahn would end up with a split following as some would like the older others like the newer and split the new fan base. Just my thought anyways

Whoever or whatever he is playing, he’ll be amazing. Saw the season finale of Sherlock yesterday and his performance was amazing! Had me in tears.

I’ve been messing with Benedict’s eyes in photoshop and he’d make a great Gary Mitchell with how beautiful his eyes are. I’d love for it to be an original-to-canon character, though. And for him to have a reoccurring role since we rarely have villains that do that in the series.

He’s obviously Dr. Gillian Taylor (Pine to Cumberbatch: “As they say in your century, I don’t even have your twitter handle”). Or maybe they’ll use motion capture to make him a horta. Or a roomba.

The Mugatu?

59. Just read yours now after I’d started writing this. Bingo. Funnier than mine.

54. Since when is secrecy around a film project new? Most big movies keep major plot details/ characters quiet. Otherwise, what’s the point of seeing the damned movie? It may be just me, but I really don’t want spoilers, or a Making Of book, or tons of photos before I see the thing. I also hate when trailers give away major plot details/twists/secrets, show all the best action scenes, give all the best lines and jokes, or are just too long and sweeping and show us too darned much of everything (and some of them basically show you the whole darned plot, leaving you no reason at all to see the movie). Gosh, in 2009, people were griping that they hadn’t seen loads of images 6 months before the thing was released — and theorizing that it was being kept secret because it sucked and they knew it would bomb at the box office. Heck, I knew 90% of the plot of most of the TNG movies before going in (just from fan sites) and wished I’d known nothing. Well see it when we see it.

I was happy with the trailers for the Dark Knight, Trek 09 (which even showed me a little too much), and MI:4.

Don’t get me wrong, I’d love to see the movie right now. Just like I’d love to open Christmas presents and try them on a year or two in advance. But, neither of those things is possible — so, for this fan, please don’t give me spoilers.

I knew little going into Trek 09 and was happy about that. And it’s not the kind of thing you can avoid by just avoiding this site, for example — spoilers show up on news and entertainment sites whether you’re seeking them or not. For The Undiscovered Country, I was in university studying like a madman and didn’t even know the movie was coming out until I saw the trailer on TV while watching TNG a few weeks before it came out. Going in completely cold was fantastic.

And, yeah, the “She’s Janice Lester!” guesses drive me nuts, but I’d rather have endless speculation on here than know all the details.

What did we know going into Trek 09? Did we know Nero was Romulan? Did we know about Vulcan (I don’t think so)?

What if they have already cast the main villian and just not saying, Note there has been no mention of the two alternate to Del Toro hispanic actors that were being considered.
@53 I saw the last episode of Sherlock which I have downloaded and Watson was intentionally almost quoting Kirk verbatim. In the last episode “Hound of the Baskerville” he made the Spock reference reffering to Holmes as well. That episode was also filled with JJ Abram’s trademark lens flares. It can’t be merely a coincedence, clearly the writers and producers are paying homage to Star Trek 2009. LLAP.

First of all, nobody from the production team has either ruled out or ruled in Khan. They’ve all been evasive on the issue. They could have come out and said there will be no Khan, but they didn’t. That seems to me that Khan will feature in the film, if not as the main villain, then maybe as a cameo at the end of the movie that leads into the third.

Secondly, just because Khan might be included, doesn’t mean the story isn’t going to be original. It’s possible that Khan and his henchmen are discovered by another starship, or by the Klingons, who from their prior encounters with Khan’s genetically engineered “cousins”, the Augments, are eager to capture Khan and turn him into an ally against the Federation. Just one example.

Thirdly, how do we know that Benedict Cumberbatch is going to be an “unKhan-like” character? Him buffing up, the right make-up and wig created for him could easily transform him physically into Khan. And from certain angles, Cumberbatch has a stern stare and facial demeanor as Ricardo Montalban from “Space Seed”.

#48 – I posted a portion of a story outline on another thread a few weeks back. The story featured nulis. Some of these pod shaped beings are capable of overcoming their Menosian planet’s gravity and atmosphere and navigate various regions of their space, including where a newly constructed Federation space station is situated. They are comprised of animal, mineral, vegetable but are greater than the sum of their parts. They derive their nutrition in the same way that a plant does, but they are also sensitive, thoughtful and mobile in a similar manner to that of an animal or a human(oid).

Certain people here, one in particular, got so angry that he told me to “shut the f*ck up” and to “get the f*ck off this site”. Finally, he told me that the story sucked. Bob Orci wrote “I liked the story” but it is possible that he was just being polite.

Yeah, unfortunately that was me. I had no right to disrespect and trash your story, as well as putting you down and my comments were absolutely uncalled for. I shouldn’t have written to you that way, and I made a total ass of myself.

I hope that you accept my apology, and know that I am truly sorry. I hope this does not discourage you from continuing your stories, and posting them here.

Once again, I am sorry.

“Bob Orci wrote “I liked the story” but it is possible that he was just being polite.”

Perhaps he truly meant his words. Don’t let what I had previously written make you question the sincerity of others. There is no reason to believe that Bob would not mean what he says.

Fact: Khan is too iconic to risk screwing up not only the movie, but putting their careers in the balance, just isn’t going to happen. Secondly not a bash but Cumberbatch isn’t exactly the physical specimen required for the role of Khan! I’m betting on something new with possibly secondary plots.

#64 – Jack, you just reminded me of Robert Downey Jr’s Sherlock Holmes in a wig, dress and pretty facial makeup in Game of Shadows…LOL I saw the latest Sherlock Holmes movie on opening day here, 12 January. Some very good moments with good humour. A little too violent in places for my taste, but overall an enjoyable film.

According to my better half who has actually read the Sir Arthur Conan Doyle Sherlock Holmes books, Robert Downey Jr plays Sherlock closer to the original character in the book than do the actors in the various BBC television iterations, including the latest with Benedict Cumberbatch. I think that is because the Holmes character in the books did experiment with various hallucenogenic drugs and other various things shown in the (NZ) M-rated movie that would not be suitable to show on television. Also, in the late 19th C/early 20th century, many of those drugs were not illegal, the way they are today.

I bawled my eyes out at the end of season 2. Benny is gonna be AWESOME. I get the feeling he will attract alot of female viewers who aren’t even into Star Trek; the same way Tom Hiddleston drew alot of fangirls to War Horse. (Including me XD)

#41: not necessarily. TOS had non-ridged Klingons, which was rationally explained as a genetic mutation in Star Trek: Enterprise, and if you look in the deleted scenes of the 2009 film, there were Rura Penthe scenes which showed hints at the New Klingon look. From what little was seen they looked more like that Viking guy from the Doctor Who Series 6 finale ‘The Wedding of River Song’…the guy who took the Doctor to see Dorium’s disembodied head in the box.

@83– I’m not debating that…although I was they’d refilled Victor Garber in a new role…that being said, a fusion of the ridged Klingons with the look of that Viking guy from Doctor Who could work as a new Klingon look…there’s 2 cultural themes too that could work for the Klingons…Viking culture or ancient Feudal Japan…both of which were attempted…with a mix of Russian/Chinese Communism…

#79 I disagree slightly there; as a fan of the books, I was a little disappointed that the Downey Jr films focus more on his fighting skill than deductive ability. Indeed, the first film could have been about anyone, it didn’t have to be Holmes, as the only use of his observational and deductive skills took the form of figuring out where to hit people! I say that as someone who liked both Downey Jr films. As to the drug allusions, there was one in A Scandal in Belgravia, as well as a pretty explicit shot in a BBC adaption of Hound of the Baskervilles a few years ago (starring Richard Roxburgh).

#53 Certainly possible, although it may have just been a play on words from Conan Doyle’s original “he was the best and wisest man I have ever known” (I’m paraphrasing there). I can see what you mean though, as that occurred to me as well. Mind you, would these have already been filmed before Cumberbatch got the role in the new film?

#85 – I was not that fussed about the fight scenes in both the movies, although apparently that is how Holmes worked out his fighting strategy, according to the books. There was too much of it though, that’s all. Unfortunately, a lot of people tend to want to see this sort of kick-ass, knock ’em dead physicality, along with big space ship battle scenes, make the scenes epic, etc etc, so I guess that is what the film makers are giving joe-public…

The Robert Downey Jr version of Sherlock is a joke. A cartoon character and as subtle as a brick. It pains me to even think that some people think this is credible acting. Cumberbatch has crafted the most complex fascinating Sherlock you could ever wish to watch. Go check it out.

I saw Cumberbatch onstage in Frankenstein (twice in fact) and he is a very physical actor. People make the mistake of thinking because he’s played some bookish characters that he cant do action scenes. This is nonsense, he will love the opportunity to show the full range of what he can do.

I thought the end of Sherlock was based on the speech Kirk made as well. It was longer that in the original story, where Watson simply says ‘…whom I shall ever regard as the best and the wisest man I have ever known.’

I think he could be playing a Cardassian. Maybe with Vulcan gone the Cardassians are looking to expand their empire. Bringing the Cardassians into the picture could work, especially since Klingons seem like such an obvious choice. Cardassians are nonetheless villainous and this move might be somewhat more refreshing than using Klingons who have featured in many Trek films before. There is potential for the film to bring up The Federation and Cardassia empire being on the verge of war. Although the Cardassians were protagonists in DS9, the destruction of Vulcan of course changes the political climate in this alternate universe which in turn may instigate an upsurge of Cardassian hostility in the Alpha Qudrant.

But it doesnt mean that Khan isnt going to be the villain just because Cumberbatch got the gig. He actually has a passing resemblance to Khan from Star Trek The Wrath of Khan IMO. I can easily see him in the roll.

I really think Khan is the best bet as far as the sequel goes. The character has to many pluses to not be included.

And if it is Khan it will be an original story of course, no question about it. Anyway, it seems their going to be hush hush about this movie so I guess we’ll have to wait and see.

@ Andrew #53…
Nicholas Meyer was a lifelong Sherlock Holmes scholar and had written several Holmes tribute novels before he re-wrote the script for “Wrath of Khan”. Whether deliberately or self-consciously, the tone of Spock’s eulogy was lifted from the original Conan Doyle, not the other way around.

#83 Saw nothing wrong with the helmets. Loved the way the Klingons looked. There was nothing to say that they wore the helmets all the time. You would have to assume they wouldn’t. It would seem to be common sense that they were a uniform thing and not something they would wear constantly.

I like the hint of how JJ was going to portray Klingons. It seemed he wanted them to be more fearsome, which is how I’ve always imagined them to be. They got to be pretty cartoonish in the previous Trek movies. I thought he was going for a more intelligent and ruthless Klingon, which in my opinion would make them far more interesting.

Time travelling Jean-Luc Picard? Interesting.
.
Again, from the boboracle, we only know “all the bridge characters are TOS characters”. But that doesn’t rule out a TNG character appearing somewhere else as a antagonist or deuterantagonist.

Has anyone else commented that “Sherlock” is almost a British version of “Monk”? I mean, like Adrian Monk he’s an eccentric ‘consulting detective’, the police accommodate his odd requests and methods, and he has an under appreciated assistant?

I heard Cumberbatch went for ear casts. I hope this doesn’t mean Sybok. I really doubt they’ll have Romulans again. I’m still hoping for either Klingons or Gorn. Or even something new entirely, as long as its cool.

I don’t really see I problem with the possibility of another Romulan character, like a take on the Commander from “Balance of Terror” – who’s not evil per say. Dedicated to duty but doubtful of the orders of some elected supreme leader back home.

Cumberbatch is nothing like Bana. In the same way Lloyd and Plummer aren’t signing from the same Klingon song sheet.

#96 Orci didn’t mean that there were no characters in this new movie on the bridge that were not TOS characters.

Its amazing to me how people on these boards take such small comments and blow them up and way out of context to support some theory of theirs.

All Bob was saying, in response to someone saying they needed the villain to be a TOS character instead of original, was that the main bridge characters – ie. Kirk, Spock, McCoy, Uhura, etc – were TOS characters.

#107 No problem. You just have to remember that they rely on rumors and guesses when a movie is just starting production.

Once the studio releases official information – ie release date, production schedule, cast listing with character names, etc. – then they will go back and update their information to match. Until then, they just go with what they can find on the internet, which at this point is nothing but rumor and speculation.

We went through this IMDB thing with the last movie. Remember when IMDB had Matt Damon listed as Kirk?

IMDB is great for info AFTER a movie comes out. Before the movie comes out it is unreliable. IMDB is not a source, it is really more like a wiki with anyone being able to post edits. However, unlike Wiki they dont require sourcing so BS stuff goes up all the time.

So there is no such thing as “IMDB is reporting…” it is really “some guy edited the IMDB page to say…”

This site does not consider some random anonymous guy editing IMDB as a source and neither should you

By the way, just to see if the system works I submitted 5 edits to the IMDB page,
– Scotty’s full name
– Bones’ full name
– removed guessed character name from Cumberbatch
– removed “Rumored” for Noel Clarke casting
– added Bruce Greenwood as Christopher Pike

IMDb recently was reporting that Chris Pine would star in the movie “Iceman” … and they were showing a site that was reporting that “Chris Evans” was connected to the project … then, IMDb was confusing “Pine” with “Evans”… as many do… lol … but despite such errors, the site is interesting.

#106 Jay: We are Trek fans, we enjoy speculation! I look at it like a puzzle, a mystery, and try to solve it. The fact that Abrams keeps a lot of info close to the chest is both irritating and tantalizing. It’s fun to gather as many clues as we can and then try to figure it out. Why do you think that is so wrong?

By the way: I don’t “need” the villain to be a TOS character as opposed to an original, I just think it’d be kind of cool. I can function fine if it was an Orci/Kurtzman/Lindelof creation as opposed to a Roddenberry/Coon/Fontana creation.

There isn’t a villain per say. It’s a probe, a piece of space junk that has transformed into a higher consciousness looking for Vulcan whales! But they don’t answer! Why? Cause VULCAN was Destroyed! Benedict will play Jim Kirk’s brother George, named after the great humpback -whale George of the George and Gracie fame!

#117 – Dee posted a link to a whole set of pictures of Chris Pine wearing a grey hoodie and pants, with just a wisp of blonde hair showing, on the Chris Pine IMDb message board a couple of days back. I’m not sure all of his hair is that fair though. The US Weekly article gave a bit more information than the other article did, but same picture(s). Obviously someone spotted Chris Pine in a local supermarket buying toiletries etc, went click and then sold them…

@ Bob Orci – I do trust that my Pine and Quinto have been greeted by their puffle pets as per the wishes of my little girl, Michelle.

Also, are all cameras fully operational with no lens caps left on? Yes?
Excellent…:)

Personally, I think he may be playing one of those love him/hate him type of bad guys.
Kind of like Magneto, where you kind of feel for the guy, but you know he must be stopped.
A tragic figure, maybe a Commodore?
Just a guess.

I’ll say this, if any Borg show up in this thing, JJ & friends have lost my money.

#122- Morairty was the villain on a couple TNG episodes (Sherlock Holmes’ /Data’s arch enemy). With all the English actors, it just made sense to have an intellectual villain vs. a melevelant one! Just a thought :)

Why the fixation on re-using an old villain from the original series? Why the insistence that the crew’s nemesis is going to be or needs to be recycled from a previous character? Can’t we possible have a well written, well developed, well performed new villain?

Couldn’t we have, for example, a faction of Vulcan refugees who logically conclude the only way for their species to survive is to conquer the Romulan Empire home worlds? This faction could be led by a Vulcan played by Benedict Cumberbatch. This would certainly test Spock’s loyalties, especially if Sarek supported the plan and asked Spock to join his side and bring the Enterprise into the fray.

In most of the photos that Chris Pine was spotted at this supermarket he was with his head covered by a hood or a cap… I hope that at the premiere of TMW, he shows the hair so we’ll see how is Captain Kirk look like … the date of the premiere in LA is February 8, 2012 …

#111 – It appears that your changes to the cast list for the Untitled Star Trek Sequel on IMDb have not taken, because Benedict Cumberbatch is still listed as playing Khan. Just checked not two minutes ago.

#139 – Yes. I hope there are lots of pictures taken of Chris at the premiere and I really hope he is not wearing a tie. Chris can look so much more polished, dignified and relaxed in one of those lovely three-piece suits he wears, minus the tie(s). Another 28 more days until I get to see This Means War!

What is interesting to me is that in the last 4 years of Star Trek conventions there has only been Zachary Quinto to appear. No one else, No other writers, producers, ah hem Director, co-stars, no one. What kind of message is Paramount sending to the loyal fans that have supported this franchise for 40 years and without, there would never been this new universe they created?

and the ONLY reason Quinto went to the conventions was to try and get the original fan base on board for the new movie, in other words, marketing reasons. The attitude, I take it, is that Paramount gave up on the original fans with a big F U (middle finger sticking up) and decided to try to create a whole new fan base. So please tell me if I’m wrong how I am wrong and the evidence that proves otherwise? The proof that I am right is just go to a few conventions. THE BIG LAS VEGAS SPECTACULAR that this web site talks about has NO ONE involved with the new movies at them. That is just arrogance or indifference but a either way, original fans should take notice.

@145 well he’s best known for Sherlock which is Steven Moffat helmed apparently which is a major no. Also, if he’s playing the villain or some major role I don’t want to be put off the movie if I don’t like him. They already cast the actor I hate the most, I want to go into with as-open-a-mind as possible, I don’t want to sabotage myself from enjoying it.

I just watched the BBC Earth Blu Ray series “South Pacific” and Benedict Cumberbatch did an excellent job narrating it. The series is spectacular, as it always is from BBC Earth.

#136.

How would a small group of vengeful Vulcans be able to conquer a vast, and superpowerful, Romulan Star Empire? Vulcans don’t happen to have many heavily armed ships either.

#147.

The new cast have careers outside of Trek. They were actors before Trek, and they will be big name actors post-Trek. “Star Trek” isn’t the main priority for them. Sure, they’re obviously honored to be part of the franchise, but they’re not like most of the previous casts (minus Shatner, Stewart, Bakula) who were little known before Trek, and never were able to rise up the fame ladder after their runs were over.

I’m sure one day, when they have the time, and the clout to pick and choose roles, that we’ll see them at the odd convention, even if it’s less frequently than the other actors.

Besides, I think the convention circuit is better for reminiscing about the good old days with Shatner, Stewart, Nimoy, Brooks, etc, simply because they aren’t involved with Trek anymore. It’s more for nostalgia.

Also, I don’t think the new cast wants to be inundated with requests for spoilers, and fans don’t want to always have to hear “No comment”.

The new cast only has one Trek movie under their belts. What are they going to talk about that we don’t already know? It might have worked for the past casts, but back then the internet either didn’t exist, or it wasn’t what it is now, with websites constantly following everything an actor does.

#139 – Dee. I guess you probably know by now that This Means War gets released on Tuesday, 14 February (Valentine’s Day), not Friday, 17 February. It is the same in NZ – new release date is also 14 February 2012. Just cut down the wait by two days…

Now if only we could reduce the waiting time for the next Star Trek movie…

Weren’t Chris Pine and Zachary Quinto at Comic-Con, San Diego in 2009? I cannot recall whether it was before or after Star Trek had been released on 8 May 2009 though, but they were there, sort of promoting the movie.

149. N – January 18, 2012
well he’s best known for Sherlock which is Steven Moffat helmed apparently which is a major no.

I’m not a big fan of Moffat but I have to defend his work on Sherlock. The first episode on series 2 was beautifully written for Cumberbatch. If people are avoiding the Sherlock series then its a huge mistake. I hate to see people miss out on such gems.

Fair enough. But I still don’t want any preconceptions, and I’m pretty bad for making them I admit.
I want judge his performance in the film based solely on his performance in the film, for better or worse.

I did the same when it came to Chris Pine and that worked out very well.

I don’t see anyone mentioning the fact that it’s already been stated, basically, that Peter Weller has been cast as a sort of “older mentor” to Benedict Cumberpatch’s character.

A) This seems to put Khan out of contention, unless Weller was playing Khan and Cumberpatch that younger guy in TWOK. Also, I’m doubting that the writing team want to just re-do Khan AGAIN. He’s been done. Once in the original series, once in the movies. ENOUGH. Khan was a great villain, yes. But he’s not Star Trek’s Darth Vader for chrissakes. Leave him alone. He’s done. No more Khan. And as I say, I see these guys wanting to do something a bit more original this time out.

B) Having said that… the Weller/Cumberpatch combination does sound suspiciously like the Centurion/Romulan Commander roles from “Balance of Terror.” And LOOK at Weller and Cumberpatch. They do have the facial bone structures that are typical for Vulcans/Romulans. And it makes further sense, because if Cumberpatch is the MAIN “villain,” then he’s the commander, and Weller, who doesn’t seem to be anywhere near a “main” character from the sound of it, would be the centurion. The weird thing about this is, as I say, I would have thought Orci, etc. would have gone more original this time out. So why do the “Balance of Terror” story again, even if substantially altered? Plus—Romulans? AGAIN? We just had Romulans in the first film. Why use them again? Seems odd. And yet—it seems like a fit.

C) I would have thought that the “villains” in the next film would be, logically, the Klingons. But my personal preference is for a Klingon who isn’t some insane, kill everything in my way villain like Khan or Nero, but more of a likeable rogueish bad guy, like the original Klingons in the original series–Koloth. Kang. Kor. Not guys you hate. Just antagonists. So maybe Weller and Cumberpatch are playing Klingons. But then… they do both LOOK more like Vulcan/Romulan types. Hmmm. Of course, with makeup… Cumberpatch might just make a good Kor. Or Kang. Or Koloth.

bottom line is—no Khan. I doubt it very much. And I certainly hope it isn’t that.

I love all star trek films, books, comics, tv series etc but wat I dont understand Is the constant revisiting of old adversaries for prequels…..all this talk bout khan and klingons….why not a race that could be totally new but referenced from the more modern series such as the tzenkethi, or even cardassians. If it were sey in a later era they could even make a film based on the books from david mack regarding the borg.
In my opinion the borg are the ultimate badguys in any star trek galaxy…
I loved the last film, and all films, and im sure ill love the next one, just wish that enemies from the TNG DS9 etc could be used more on major blockbusters